Four of our cadets represented Ireland at the Hasselt International Open in Belgium. The team finished 8th in the team event out of 24 teams from all over Europe. Conor Nolan,Andrew Boland,Sean Givernaud and John Murphy played very well during the tournament and were a credit to their club and country.
In the first group stage the team played against teams from France, Belarus,Lithuania and Poland. On the first day the team was a bit nervous and found it difficult to play against strong teams from France and Belarus.
Then on the second day the team played their best table-tennis beating Lithuania 5-1 before losing 4-2 to Poland in a tense match with Sean Givernaud losing 26-24 in the third in both his matches. This team from Poland reached the Semi-Final stage
In the Individual events the players continued to play well against tough opposition. Conor had the toughest group and finished fifth,but this was the day he didn't play his best. Andrew won two to finish third and qualify for the consolation. He played well in nearly all sets and could be happy with his performance. Sean was tired and wasn't playing to his potential but he managed to finish fourth and be in the consolation. John played a storm and finish second in his group even beating the player who won the group !
They all lost in the next rounds with Sean and Andrew having the best chances but overall it was an excellent tournament for these players giving good matches and valuable experience.
This is an excellent tournament and I hope that we will get the opportunity to go to this tournament again in the near future.
However as it is always held on a whit weekend exams will interfere in the coming year!!